Report of the HRAP Open Day, Saturday 14th April 2007.

The weather for the open day could not have been better, dawning cool and foggy, by the time the hard work erecting the marquee was completed the skies were clearing and the sun shining through - and continued to do so for the rest of the day. (Thanks to Mark and Vanessa Roberts for donating the use of the marquee.)

Hillside Scout Group provided a mobile kitchen serving hot bacon sandwiches and refreshments for the visitors to the open day. In addition they staged activities for children ranging from football and rounders to a very entertaining water powered rocket display.

Over 50 visitors plus 30 children attended the open day, finding out feedback from the Community Survey completed in 2006, seeing for themselves the progress made since the site was acquired in March 2006, the plans for the new Scout and Community Sports Hall, funding progress for the children's playground and more importantly taking the opportunity to discuss with members of the project team any questions or concerns they had about the project.

In addition to the many people already involved with this exciting community project 15 people volunteered to donate their time in helping with some of the work on the site. Examples are picking stones from the newly cultivated football pitch, erecting a fence around the children's playground and preparation of the sub-base for the specialist safety floor material for the playground.

On display were the second-hand John Deere tractor and self propelled roller which have been bought using funds donated to the HRAP project. In use for the first time on the day was the Rollamo bought by Borrowby Show with funds donated by Borrowby Parish Council. This equipment is of a professional standard and is ideal for keeping on top of the 28 acres or so of grass for the show field.

The many children who visited demonstrated exactly what the project hopes to achieve, simply by playing spontaneous games of football, kite flying and generally letting off steam in a safe and friendly environment. Perhaps more significantly they were as keen as anybody to help with many of the tasks on the day, this helping to generate a very strong community spirit on the day. Some of the children helped to plant over 60 hedge plants kindly donated by Ashlands Nurseries at Leeming Bar. These will form the entrance to the site.

The only uninvited guest on the day was a mole making his mark on the newly cultivated show field. One of the features of community projects is the amount of self help involved, this illustrated by the deployment of three mole traps by a local resident donated "in kind" with thanks from the project team!

There was a lot of interest in the children's playground. This part of the project was started by Tom Finch from Borrowby as the service element of his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award. Following careful research into the technical, insurance, health & safety, maintenance and ongoing management requirements of a playground Tom identified a number of suppliers of playgrounds and obtained quotations from them for an ambitious scheme. Armed with an idea of the budget required to achieve this target, Tom successfully applied to the Local Network Fund for a grant of £7,000 towards the cost. Tom is now concentrating on his A level studies. The project team are planning to install the first phase of the playground later in the summer. This phase will deliver most of the equipment designated for the toddler element of the design. Value for money will be maximised by carrying out such as fencing and preparation of the sub base on a self help basis to avoid paying contractors to do the work.

The plans for the Scout and Community Sports Hall were on display, together with samples of the materials to be used for the roof and walls of the building exterior. Following feedback from the planning department at Hambleton District Council and from Knayton Parish Council, the colour of the rendering to the walls will be changed from "Terracotta" to "Sandstone". The building will include a number of features designed to minimise the carbon footprint both during construction and throughout the remainder of its life.

If you would like any further information on the project or would like to make a donation of money or time please contact either Moray Finch 01845 537034 or Janet Peckitt 01845 537557.